Pontoon boats have become popular among boating enthusiasts in recent years due to their stability, durability, seating capacity and comfort. Similarly to automobiles, pontoon boats are increasing in size and are being developed with more features and creature comforts. In recent years, pontoon boat manufacturers have begun placing fiberglass structures around the periphery of the platform, which provide more modern appearance, and which house the seating and storage compartments, the helm, and other parts of the upper structure. The addition of fiberglass allows the boats to have more aerodynamic shapes, but also adds a significant amount of weight to the boats. In order to compensate for the additional weight, pontoon boat manufacturers have begun increasing the size of motors, both inboard and mostly outboard, so that the pontoon boats can get up on plane and travel at faster speeds.
One issue with pontoon boats of the past is that the shape of the pontoons has traditionally included a generally round cross section, which is not a particularly advantageous shape for performance characteristics, as the motors have to provide significant output and torque to get a heavy pontoon boat with round pontoons to get up and run on plane.
Various efforts to produce pontoons having a more aqua-dynamic shape have been made to improve the performance of the pontoons, and reduce drag that the pontoons produce in the water while the boat is underway. The following are examples of pontoons that have been developed to improve the performance and speed characteristics of pontoon boats, and each of the references cited below are hereby incorporated by reference herein:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,561—Planing Pontoon Boat
A pontoon boat comprising elongated flotation units of generally circular cross-section positioned in spaced-apart parallel relationship with each of the flotation units having planing fins extending longitudinally of the inboard and outboard sides of the flotation units near the bottom thereof to cause the pontoon boat to readily hydroplane. A wedge-shaped fin is provided on the underside of the outboard planing fins near the bow section to provide additional lift when turning at high speeds to improve control and stability on turns.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,784,977—Pontoon for Watercraft
An improved, planning pontoon boat has first and second spaced apart, elongated pontoons which exhibit a bow end and a stern end relative to the boat. A lower surface of each of the pontoons exhibits two intersecting planar members which terminate adjacent to respective elongated lift pads for the purpose of providing improved planing characteristics for the pontoons. The lift pads are each formed of intersecting concave surfaces. The lift pads extend radially from the pontoons and are located adjacent to the intersection of the planar surfaces and an upper curved surface of the pontoon. An elongated keel extends along the bottom of each of the pontoons, in the region where the planar elements intersect. The keel extends parallel to the lift pads.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,187—Pontoon
A pontoon boat having a deck disposed over distal, watertight pontoons. Each pontoon comprises an elongated, generally cylindrical shell having a bow end consisting of an eccentric conical section extending upward at an angle out of the water. Splash rails, comprising fins protruding from the pontoon's shell, are disposed along the pontoon's inner and outer surfaces so that they extend substantially from the pontoon's bow end to its stern end. Each pontoon may also includes a splash guard comprising a second, larger fin mounted to the inner surface of the pontoon's shell near the its bow end. The deck of the pontoon boat includes a motor transom for mounting an outboard motor.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,736—Pontoon Watercraft and Method for Making Same
A pontoon for floating a watercraft, wherein the pontoon has a skin forming a closed body, a foam coupled to the skin within the closed body, and integral features formed by the skin. The integral features may include a support structure for mounting a watercraft structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,798,088—Planing Pontoon Tube
An improved water tight, chambered planing pontoon assembly incorporates a hollow shell with a cross sectional shape in the form of an upper portion and lower portion. The upper portion of the shape is generally semi-cylindrical extending downward and terminates with opposing chines extending the full length of the tube. The lower portion of the shape is formed by equal and opposing planing surfaces which extend upward at acute angles from a vertical center line, then turn outward, perpendicular to the vertical center line, meeting at the chines. The tube terminates on the bow end with an elongate semi-cone and on the opposite end with a water tight bulkhead. The upper and lower portions of the tube are formed of one homogeneous sheet of metal. The semi-cone with opposing chine portions is formed of one homogeneous sheet of metal.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,827,926—Profiled Pontoon for Watercraft
A pontoon for a watercraft. The pontoon has a vertical inboard side and a generally angled bottom defined by the inboard side height of the pontoon being greater than its outboard side height. The bottom has planing surfaces that define one or more channels, which produce lift upon the watercraft increasing its speed on water. An inboard horizontal planing surface allows relatively low speed planing.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,950,340—Pontoon
A pontoon boat having enhanced handling characteristics includes a deck, a central pontoon mounted to said deck, two outer pontoons mounted to said deck on respective opposite sides of said central pontoon, and a motor, wherein the central pontoon extends below the outer pontoons to create a V-shaped hull, and the motor is capable of causing said center and outer pontoons to plane during normal operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,676,450-Pontoon Structure for Supporting a Boat Body
Pontoon structure for a boat includes an elongated pontoon with a bottom forming a water entrapment channel between a front end portion and a rear end portion of the pontoon, the bottom configuration causing the pontoon and the supported boat body to quickly rise above the water surface and plane.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20090293790—Pontoon with Integrated Lifting Strake and Method for Making the Same
A pontoon with an improved running surface and methods for construction the same are provided. The pontoon comprises an interior concave main running surface formed along the longitudinal centerline of the pontoon which is bounded by two sponsons, which in turn are bounded by two distal concave surfaces, or integrated lifting strakes. The associated methods provide a process for retrofitting prior art pontoons or constructing the pontoon to avoid the need for welds below the waterline of the pontoon. The pontoon provides improved pontoon boat performance by maximizing lift and minimizing leakage. The pontoon also reduces construction costs by lowering the number of welds required to form a pontoon with lifting strakes.
Each of the above-referenced pontoon structures includes various disadvantages, including expense of manufacture, some are unnecessarily complicated, and some simply do not perform as advertised. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a novel pontoon that is easy and inexpensive to manufacture, which has a simple construction, and which improves the performance and speed characteristics of a watercraft bearing such a pontoon.